Keypunch acoustic cover

ABSTRACT

An acoustic cover is described, suitable for use on say a keypunch machine. Box-like in form, with a sloping upper part to the front, the upper front part is transparent and is hinged to a top part, so that when desired it can be swung up to lie on top of the top part. Further, the top part can be moved upwardly through a limited angle about its rear edge. As a result, there are provided five different conditions of enclosure, which leads the operator to adopt the condition which suits the operation being performed, rather than merely leave the acoustic cover in the open position.

United States Patent [191 Scott 1 KEYPUNCH ACOUSTIC COVER [76] Inventor: Charles Hamilton Scott, 20

Woodmount Cres., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada [22] Filed: June 7, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 260,353

[52] US. Cl. 181/33 K, 197/186 B, 312/138 R [51] Int. Cl E041) 1/99 [58] Field of Search 181/33 K; 235/1 D;

[ 5 6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,330,612 7/1967 Masterson et a1. 312/290 X 3,087,578 4/1963 Reed et a1. 181/33 K UX 1,422,433 7/1922 Fries 197/186 B 1,712,648 5/1929 Campbell 181/33 K UX 2,111,644 3/1938 Singer 181/33 K UX 2,241,797 5/1941 Weidner 181/33 K UX 2,701,618 2/1955 Montgomery 181/33 K UX 1 Jan. 15, 1974 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 204,964 10/1923 Great Britain 197/186 B Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-John F. Gonzales Attorney-Richard K. Stevens et a1.

[5 7] ABSTRACT An acoustic cover is described, suitable for use on say,

a keypunch machine. Box-like in form, with a sloping upper part to the front, the upper front part is transparent and is hinged to-a top part, so that when desired it can be swung up to lie on top of the top part. Further, the top part can be moved upwardly through a limited angle about its rear edge. Asa result, there are provided; five different conditions of enclosure, which leads the operator to adopt the condition which suits the operation being performed, rather than merely leave the acoustic cover in the open position.

15 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures 1 KEYI'UNCII ACOUSTIC COVER I vided as part of the machine.

According to the present invention, an acoustic cover suitable for application to a keyboard operated machine, comprises back and 'end walls provided with sound absorbing and deadening material, a top part pivoted along a rear edge to the remainder of the cover,

a and a front part pivoted along an upper edge to the said top part, whereby the said front part can be swung upwards relative to the said top part, and the said top part can be swung upwardly relative to the back and end walls to permit access to an upper part of the keyboard operated machine.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in

which: 7

FIG. 1 is a perspective drawing showing the cover in position on a machine, in its normal operating position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective drawing similar to FIG. 1 but showing a front panel of the cover in a folded position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective drawingsimilar to FIG. 2 but showing a top panel of the cover in a folded position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective drawing similar to FIG. 3 but showing the front panel in an alternative position;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the cover shown in FIG. 1,

, viewed as from the left-hand side of that Figure;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a mechanism of FIG. 5 in an alternative operative position corresponding to that shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional front view taken on the line VII -VII of FIG. 6 and showing the arrangement of acoustic lining on an endwall;

FIG. 8 illustrates a modification of the arrangement of the meeting edges of a top and an upper front part shown in FIGS. 1 through 6;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic front view of a FLEXO- WRITER installation (FLEXOWRITER is a Trade Mark) to which an acoustic cover according to the present invention is applied; I

FIG. 10 is a sectional side elevation taken on the line X--X of FIG. 9 and viewed indirection indicated by the arrows; 7

FIG. 1 l is an end elevation of a modified form of the closure shown in FIGS. 1 through 8; and

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 1 l but with a pivoted lower front part in an alternative working position.

As shown more or less pictorially in FIGS. 1 through 4, and to a larger scale in FIG. 5, an acoustic cover I applied to a standard IBM keypunch machine 3 is shaped generally as a rectangular box with a back 5, a transparent top 7, a front comprising a sloping transparent upper part 9 and a lower vertical part 11, and two end walls 13 and 15. No bottom is provided, and the cover is lowered into place so as to enclose the upper parts of the keypunch machine 3 with the lower rim of the cover resting on a table-like top 17 of the machine.

The back 5, the lower front'part 11, and the two end walls 13 and are all made from thick plywood, the various parts being joined together along matching corners by screwed and glued joints. The top 7 is formed of a single sheet of transparent plastics material. joined to the back 5 by a first piano-type or continuous hinge 23 which extends along the whole'of the meeting edges of these two parts.

The sloping part 9 of the front is also formed of a single sheet of transparent plastics material, joined in the front edge of the top 7 by a second piano-type or continuous hinge 25 which extends along the whole of the meeting edges of the two parts. The arrangement of this second hinge 25 is such that the part 9 can be swung up through the are 29 to lie flat on top of the top 7, as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The arrangement of the first hinge 23 is such that the top 7 can be swung up from a horizontal position to a vertical position, but in practice its movement is limited by two similar mechanical linkages, provided respectively onend walls 13 and 15, one of which is shown clearly in FIGS. 5 and 6. This linkage 31 consists of a lower arm 33 and an 'uppe arm 35 pivotally connected together by a horizontal pin 37,

upper arm 35 at its other end being connected by a horizontal pin 39 to a bracket 41 on the top 7, and lower arm 33 being connected at its other end by a horizontal pin 43 to the end wall 13. A tension spring 45 is connected as shown to the lower arm 33 and to an anchor 47 carried by the end wall 13. When the top 7 is shut as shown in FIG. 5, this tension spring 45 sets'up' a force on the mechanism tending to hold the top 7 down. As the top is opened as shown FIG. 6, the spring 45 exerts a force on the mechanism tending to move it further, but in this position co'ntinued'movement of the linkage is prevented by means of engagement of a pin 49 mounted on end wall 13 with the side of arm 33. This is necessary to prevent thetwo arms 33 and 35 moving to an aligned position in which they could not readily be returned merely by pressure on the top 7. I

Referring now to FIG. 7, this-figure illustrates how on each end wall of the cover a sound-absorbing layer of foamed polyester material 51 is held by a convenient adhesive to the inside of a second plywood wall 13. This layer 51 is slit downwardly as shown at 52 along a portion of its upper edge to accomodate the two arms 33 and 35 and to permit their free movement as the top 7 is raised and lowered. Below said slit, the sound absorbing material is recessed to provide a pocket'53 permitting movement of the spring 45 while retaining a wall of material to absorb sound and conceal the operation of these parts. The back 5 is similarly covered on 'its inside with a layer of foamed plastics material.

Although the keypunch machine 3 does not form part of the invention, a brief explanation of its form is included so that the use of the cover can be understood. I

The machine indicated in the drawings is an IBM keypunch machine and (see FIG. 4) comprises a square table 101 into which a card feeding, interpreting and punching mechanism unit 103 is inserted in such a manner that a significant portion' of the machine projects above the table surface at the rear of the table. A keyboard 105 is situated at the front right of the table and is physically separated from the feed mechanism, lying towards the rear of the table, which generates most of the noise involved in use of the machine. In the normal operation of the machine, a supply of blank cards must be placed in a card feed hopper, cards must be removed from a card stacker after they have been punched, and several other functions may need to be performed on these exposed parts of the machine depending upon the operator and the circumstances. For example, a backspace key may be depressed to move the card being punched backwards, cards may be individually inserted into the feed train and duplicated in part into a subsequent card, and access to a panel lointo place over the part of the machine which extends above the table 101, with theexception of the keyboard l05. For routine operation of the machine, the top 7 is in its lowered position and the upper part 9 of the front is lowered into its closed position. Thus the noisy parts of the machine are enclosed, and it is found that the noise level during operation is much reduced;

As will be apparent from the drawings, the front part 9 of the cover in its lowered position completely closes the aperture formed by the end walls 13 and the lower front part 11, to minimize noise. The seal achieved by the part 9 around this aperture is assisted by the slight slope of the front part 9, since the weight of the front partholds this against the frame parts. I

Referring now to FIG. 2, this shows the cover in place but with the upper part 9 of the front raised to lie on top of the top 7. This permits limited access by the operator to the frontof the machine, quite sufficient for the operator to obtain sufficient access to the machine to insert individual cards into the feed and to use the backspace key. Since the upper front part 9 is light, the operator cal also partially raise it separately with one hand, operate the backspace key or insert a card in the feed, and permit the front to return to a closed position due to the action of gravity, so that there is little incentive to leave the front open all the time, as would happen if the front were heavy, awkward to raise, or required downward pressure to close it. In the FIG. 2 position, the upper part 7 of the cover is still effective to reduce by a large amount the noise which would be emitted by the machine were the upper part to be completely raised. This is because the top part 7 extends over a very large proportion (say at least 70 percent and preferably 80 percent) of the total front to back dimensions of the machine, and in its lowered position it covers the upper parts of the machine which, in operation, produce most of the noise.

When the operator requires complete access to other parts of the machine, she can readily raise the top 9 (with the upper front part 9 folded down on top of it) to the position shown in FIG. 3. Most operators will be able to do this from the sitting position, and since on the one hand the weight of the two parts tends to lower the top 7, while the action of the spring 45 tends to raise the two parts, little effort is required either to raise or to lower. This position provides interference free across to the feeds and program drum.

FIG. 4 shows a fourth positioning of the movable parts of the cover 1, the top 7 being raised but the upper front 9 remaining substantially in its original position relative to the top, so that considerable but limited access to the machine is possible.

Unlike known acoustic covers for machines, the present cover has more than the usual two conditions, which are maximum shielding with little access, and

minimum shielding with only partial access. Since the cover has five possible settings or positions, including the temporary partial lifting of the front 9, the operator is able and in fact will adopt eithercomplete shielding or that which provides the minimum necessary access to the machine. Since adjustment is so easy, the tendency to leave the cover open rather than restore it to a closed position is overcome.

It will be noted particularly that that the cover is not locked into any if its operating positions, and at any time its position can be changed by a light touch.

Since this acoustical device is intended for use in modern offices, its appearance must be functional and pleasing. For the purpose, pressure sensitive vinyl is used for its ease of cleaning and attractive appearance. The normal use of piano type or continuous hinges results in the use of a significant number of screws which detract from the overall appearance of the unit. Accordingly, strips of this vinyl material are used to cover a major portion of such hinges to present a finished product, promote safety and to eliminate tearing of clothing. The support brackets that provide the spring loaded action for the top panel and the related springs as well as stops are unsightly and are concealed by unique fabrication of the acoustical material. The top bracket arm which is connected to the top panel emerges from the thickness of the acoustical material through a slit several inches long. This slit connects to a void on the peripheral frame side which is of such configuration to permit expansion and contraction of the spring and movement of the bottom portion of the bracket arm. Thus only the upper portion of the bracket arm is visible to the user and is not objectionable.

The invention has been described above with reference to a keypunch machine, in which access is necessary at all times to a keyboard and in which limited access to other parts is required from time to time.

It will be'appreciated that the invention can be applied to other similar machines, and in some of these the keyboard may also normally lie under the acoustic cover.

Thus the FLEXOWRITER is a unique typewriter like device that punches and reads paper tape as well as cards; it is the exclusive trade name of the Friden Div of Singer Inc. This device can also be cable connected to a variety of auxiliary readers and punches located external to the device proper and these are of no concern to this invention. The stand upon which the Flexowriter is mounted is of special concern since it poses unique requirements for any enclosing device. Although there are a variety of types of stands or tables, the one posing the most restrictive conditions will be described. This table 201 (see FIG. 9) contains an exterior top of two parts which slide back to reveal an inner top but they do not completely cover the entire table top. In the area 203 not covered by these two sliding tops, the Flexowriter 205 is normally positioned very close to the leading edge of the table or stand. The left hand table top 207 when extended to the left reveals a multiplicity of paper tape feeding and take-up spooling facilities and switches to operate these spooling facilities. This includes a centre feed type unit but all may be in operation with the top in a closed position processing paper tape to and from the left hand Flexowriter paper tape reader and punch. The right hand top 209 may be extended to provide additional table space for the operator.

In the design of an appropriate acoustical enclosure 211, consideration must be given to the close proximity of the leading edge of the Flexowriter to the leading edge of the table as well as the provisions for permitting the movement of the table tops and adequate clearance for the paper tape being fed from the centre feed spool which tends to extend upward. Carriage movement must be provided for and adequate room must be provided above the device for paper so that the device is essentially horizontal. From a maintenance standpoint, it is imperative the enclosure be portable and removable. The normal operation of this device is such that an operator types in some partial information, switches control of the device to the paper tape reader which causes the device to type information contained on the tape being read. Such manual and automatic operation cycles may occur several times for one document and thus requires a closed cabinet during automatic operation and access to the keyboard during periods when keyboard operations are being performed. These requirements lead to three unique developments in the related acoustical enclosure, a portable enclosure support system, means for a semipermanent and easily closeable partially open position of the transparent front cover for manual typing as well as provision for sliding table tops on the side of the enclosure.

\Thus the modified acoustic cover 211 for use with a FLEXOWRITER-has had the same general form as the described above for use with a keypunch, but it is large enough to extend over the whole of the exposed mechanism, including the keyboard of themachine 205. The lower front part 213 is muchlower in height, in order to avoid interference with the hands of the operator. In ordinary use of the keyboard, the operator would arrange the upper front parts of the cover in one of the positions of FIGS. 2, 3 or 4. For manual typing and maximum noise control, the front part 215 would be raised a short distance and supported by suitable spac' ers 217 carried by it, the spacerbeing movable out of the way when the front part 215 is to be lowered to the closed position shown in dotted outline 215A in FIG. 10.

In this cover 211, the front and rear walls are provided with brackets 219 and 221 which rest respectvely on frontand rear angles 223and 225 of the framework of the FLEXOWRITER, so that the end walls of the cover have a small clearance above the adjacentparts of the equipment, to permit free operation of the sliding table tops. It will be noted that the front bracket 219 extends slightly under the front of the FLEXO- WRITER, and the cover is therefore tilted during fitting to the machine, to permit entry of this bracket.

Referring now to FIG. 8, this illustrates a modification in which a spring 331 is arranged to encircle part of the front pivot or hinge, and serves resiliently to bias the front 9 downwardly and towards the rear. By use of such a spring, the inclination of the upper part of the front can be reduced, while maintaining its tendency to return to the closed position when released by an operator.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate a further modification in which the front of the cover includes both the part 9 referred to above, and the upright part 11, but also includes a further part 439 hinged by a piano-type or continuous hinge 441 along its lower edge to the part that the hands of the operator can extend through the relatively small slot-like opening 445 above the lowered further part 439 to operate the keyboard of the machine, while a substantially complete acoustic enclosure of the machine is maintained.

I claim:

1. An acoustic cover suitable for application to a keyboard operated machine, comprising:

a. a fixed back wall;

b. fixed first and second end walls secured along rearward edges to said back wall;

c. a top part pivoted along a rear edge to said back wall and arranged to be movable between a lowered, generally horizontal position in which the top part engages the top edges of said first and second end walls, and a raised position allowing access to the top of the machine;

d. a front part having an upper edge connected to a front edge of said top part by hinge means permitting movement of said front part from a lowered position in which the frontpart extends downwardly from the front edge of the top part, to a raised position displaced more than from said lowered position relative to the top part and in which said front part rests on top of said top part, said hinge means being asociated with stop means preventing substantial pivotable movement of the front part relative to the top part beyond said lowered position,

e. biasing means which sufficiently counteract the combined weight of said top and front parts to hold said top and front parts against falling when said top part is in its raised position,

f. sound absorbing and deadening material fitted to inner surfaces of each ofsaid back and end walls; whereby said cover may be used (1) with both top and front parts in-the lowered position and enclosing said machine; (2) with said top part lowered and limiting noise from the top of the machine and with said front part in said raised position allowing access to the front of the machine,

and (3) with said top part raised and with saidv front part swung over and resting on said top part allowing access to the machine from above.

2. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said rear edge, along which the top part is pivoted, is the top of the said back wall of the cover, whereby the whole of the top of the cover can be pivoted along the rear edge, and wherein, with said top and front parts in their raised positions, both said top and front parts extend forwardly from said back wall.

3. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said front part is inclined upwardly and rearwardly in such a manner as to face an operator using the keyboard, so that when said front part is raised from its lowered closed position, its weight tends to return it to a closed position.

4. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said stop means is so arranged that when the said top part is raised the position of the said front part relative to the said top part remains substantially unchanged but an access space is left open below the said front part.

5. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said front part is provided with spring biasing means which act between the said front part and the said top part so that when said front part is raised from its lowered closed position, the spring means tend to return it to its closed position.

6. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which a lower front part of the cover is pivoted along a lower edge and can be lowered from a raised position in which it engages the said front part.

7. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said biasing means include spring means.

8. An acoustic cover according to claim 7, in which the spring means is effective to hold the said top part down in its closed position.

9. An acoustic cover according to claim 7, in which the spring means act between said fixed walls and a mechanical linkage itself acting between the top part and the said end walls.

10. An acoustic cover according to claim 7, in which there are provided two arms having their inner ends pivotally connected together and their outer ends pivotally connected respectively to the said top part and one of the said end walls said arms being acted upon by the spring means.

11. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said front part comprises a sheet of transparent plastics material.

12. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which both the said front part and the said top part comprises sheets of transparent plastics material.

13. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which said sound absorbing and deadening material provided on at least one of the said end walls is provided with a vertically extending recess which encloses and conceals at least parts of a mechanism associated with the support of the said top part, said recess having a covering of said material facing the inside of the cover whereby said covering absorbs and/or deadens sound.

14. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, wherein the front edges of said end walls are connected together by a fixed lower front part, and wherein with said top and front parts both in their lowered position said front part substantially completely closes the aperture formed by said end walls, said lower front part and said top part.

15. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, wherein said top part occupies at least percent of overall front-to-back dimension of the cover. 

1. An acoustic cover suitable for application to a keyboard operated machine, comprising: a. a fixed back wall; b. fixed first and second end walls secured along rearward edges to said back wall; c. a top part pivoted along a rear edge to said back wall and arranged to be movable between a lowered, generally horizontal position in which the top part engages the top edges of said first and second end walls, and a raised position allowing access to the top of the machine; d. a front part having an upper edge connected to a front edge of said top part by hinge means permitting movement of said front part from a lowered position in which the front part extends downwardly from the Front edge of the top part, to a raised position displaced more than 180* from said lowered position relative to the top part and in which said front part rests on top of said top part, said hinge means being associated with stop means preventing substantial pivotable movement of the front part relative to the top part beyond said lowered position, e. biasing means which sufficiently counteract the combined weight of said top and front parts to hold said top and front parts against falling when said top part is in its raised position, f. sound absorbing and deadening material fitted to inner surfaces of each of said back and end walls; whereby said cover may be used (1) with both top and front parts in the lowered position and enclosing said machine; (2) with said top part lowered and limiting noise from the top of the machine and with said front part in said raised position allowing access to the front of the machine, and (3) with said top part raised and with said front part swung over and resting on said top part allowing access to the machine from above.
 2. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said rear edge, along which the top part is pivoted, is the top of the said back wall of the cover, whereby the whole of the top of the cover can be pivoted along the rear edge, and wherein, with said top and front parts in their raised positions, both said top and front parts extend forwardly from said back wall.
 3. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said front part is inclined upwardly and rearwardly in such a manner as to face an operator using the keyboard, so that when said front part is raised from its lowered closed position, its weight tends to return it to a closed position.
 4. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said stop means is so arranged that when the said top part is raised the position of the said front part relative to the said top part remains substantially unchanged but an access space is left open below the said front part.
 5. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said front part is provided with spring biasing means which act between the said front part and the said top part so that when said front part is raised from its lowered closed position, the spring means tend to return it to its closed position.
 6. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which a lower front part of the cover is pivoted along a lower edge and can be lowered from a raised position in which it engages the said front part.
 7. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said biasing means include spring means.
 8. An acoustic cover according to claim 7, in which the spring means is effective to hold the said top part down in its closed position.
 9. An acoustic cover according to claim 7, in which the spring means act between said fixed walls and a mechanical linkage itself acting between the top part and the said end walls.
 10. An acoustic cover according to claim 7, in which there are provided two arms having their inner ends pivotally connected together and their outer ends pivotally connected respectively to the said top part and one of the said end walls said arms being acted upon by the spring means.
 11. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which the said front part comprises a sheet of transparent plastics material.
 12. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which both the said front part and the said top part comprises sheets of transparent plastics material.
 13. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, in which said sound absorbing and deadening material provided on at least one of the said end walls is provided with a vertically extending recess which encloses and conceals at least parts of a mechanism associated with the support of the said top part, said recess having a covering of said material facing the inside of the cover whereby said covering absorbs and/or deadens sound.
 14. An acoustic cover according to cLaim 1, wherein the front edges of said end walls are connected together by a fixed lower front part, and wherein with said top and front parts both in their lowered position said front part substantially completely closes the aperture formed by said end walls, said lower front part and said top part.
 15. An acoustic cover according to claim 1, wherein said top part occupies at least 70 percent of overall front-to-back dimension of the cover. 